Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End of the Thirteenth CenturyHewitt, John
History
Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End of the Thirteenth Century
Hewitt, John
Armor; Weapons
These laces are very clearly shewn in our engravings, Nos. 47 and
62; from Roy. MSS., 20, D. i. and 2, A. xxii.
In order to recover the helm if struck off in the _mêlée_ it was
attached to some part of the knight's equipment by a chain. The
brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington (cut, No. 73) supplies us with
an illustration. And this usage is noticed in the Romance of _Le
tournois de Chauvenei_, written about 1285:--
"Chescun son hiaume en sa chaaine,
Qui de bons cous attent l'estraine."
_Vers_ 3,583.
[Illustration: No. 73.]
Crests are frequently found surmounting the helm at the close of this
century; but they are not of that distinctive kind, consisting of
lions, griffins, eagles, wings, axes, and-so-forth, which appear in
such diversity during the next age. They are merely of the fan form.
The seal of De Quinci, indeed, seems an evidence to the contrary,
and has been often described as an instance of a helm of the early
part of the thirteenth century bearing a wyvern for a crest (woodcut,
No. 87). But the wyvern in the upper part of this seal seems to be
placed there merely to fill up the space between the letters, and
belongs to the legend, not to the effigy; just as we see a flower
occupying the space beneath the lion's feet, and in the obverse of
the seal, the wyvern filling up the void beneath the horse and under
the housing. Heraldic bearings do in fact appear on the casques
of several figures previously to 1300. But they form part of the
headpiece itself: they do not surmount it. The helm of Richard the
First has a lion, but it is a figure embossed or painted on a part
of the casque. The well-known effigy of a Plantagenet (Stothard, Pl.
II.) is an analogous instance. The monument of Le Botiler at St.
Bride's, Glamorganshire, (woodcut, No. 74,) affords another example:
and in the curious helm of Louis of Savoy (woodcut 71, fig. 11) we
have the heraldic eagle forming the _visor_ of the casque, while the
crest is composed of the usual fan ornament. This fan we have already
seen on the helm of Richard I., but it does not come into general use
till towards the close of the thirteenth century. See examples on our
woodcuts, Nos. 71 and 72. Other instances may be found in Laing's
"Scottish Seals," p. 54; in the Lives of the Offas, Cott. MS., Nero,
D. i.; and in great number among the miniatures of Roy. MS. 20, D.
i., where they are attached to the heads of the horses as well as
to the helms. At the Windsor tournament in 1278, also, crests were
provided both for man and horse:--
"Īt p̴ qualibet galea j. cresta }
Īt p̴ quolibet equo j. cresta } S͂m. LXXVI. Cres̄t."
And for the making of these crests, calf-skins and parchment were
employed:--
"LXXVI. pell' vitul' p̴ cres̄t faciend' p'̄c pell' iij. d."
"Īt p̴ qualibet cresta j. pell' parcamēn rud'. S͂m. LXXVI.
pell' rud' p̴cameni[352]."
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